Children’s Week Ficlet

This was a WoW ficlet I did back in ’08 for Children’s Week, and it amused me enough that I thought I’d repost it. It stars Lyestra, my warrior, and her bastard half sister Jamethera, my hunter.

Fish Out of WaterA Children’s Week 2008 Story

“Don’t look at her like that, Ly.”
Lyestra Shadowbane turned towards her half-sister and gave her a blank look. “It’s a child. A Draenei child, at that.”
“And cute!” Jamethera swept her own little orphan girl into a hug. “I think it’s nice that we get to take them out to see some stuff.”
“Yes. We get to drag children through dangerous places. Totally wonderful and completely logical.” Her tone was as dry as Tanaris.
“Think of it as practice!”
“Practice for what?” Lyestra quirked an eyebrow.
“Well, what if you and Hazard decide to have children?” The huntress grinned wickedly.
Lyestra again gave her a blank stare. “What did Illyana feed you this morning? Whatever it was, you can’t have any more of it. Clearly, it’s a hallucinogen.”
“Don’t act like you don’t like them! You helped raise me!” There was a six hundred year age difference between the two…not that Lyestra always liked to be reminded of that.
“And clearly you don’t remember the time I locked you in the closet because you wouldn’t leave me alone.”
Confusion flickered across Jamthera’s face. “What? You didn’t do that. Did you?”
Lyestra just smirked. “Come along, child.” She held out her hand for the orphan’s pale blue one. “Let’s go to Nagrand.”
“…you know,” Jamethera said with some exasperation as she scrambled to catch up, “You and Hazard deserve each other. I consider him an agent of karma. He fucks with your head, but it’s what you get for fucking with everyone elses!”
“Watch your mouth around the children, ‘Thera.” It was all the warrior could do to keep a straight face.
“Oh please.” Jamethera rolled her eyes.
“You argue like me and my brother,” Ly’s little orphan girl broke in suddenly.
Lyestra flashed the girl–Dolorra? Dorna?–a grin. “Well, she is my sister, so I guess that makes sense.”
“Deep down, she truly loves me and regrets all the horrible, mean, evil things she does to me,” Jamethera said as she helped her little girl aboard her massive netherdrake.
“Like hell I do.” Ly winked at the young draenei.

Lyestra had mostly tuned out the children. Though she still loosely clasped the girl’s fragile hand in her calloused one, both girls seemed content yakking Jamethera’s ears off. Between her netherdrake, the giant blue talbuk, and her deceptively cuddly snow leopard, she was by far the more interesting sibling.
They had already passed through Nagrand and the rather desolate Ring of Observance. Now they wandered down the tunnel towards the Caverns of Time. As they passed one of the side passages leading towards the known rifts, Lyestra stopped, face shuttered.
“What’s ‘smatter, Ly?” Dolorra tugged at her hand. “We’re going to see the dragon over there!”
Jamethera’s gaze caught her sister’s knowingly. “Haven’t been down here yet?”
“No.” Abrubtly, Lyestra gave herself a slight shake and strode past the route to time’s echo of Hyjal. Just when she thought it didn’t haunt her… “Let’s go see the dragon.”
“You okay?” The draenei tilted her head back to peer up at the elf, her pale brow creased.
Ly seemed flustered by her genuine concern. “Just remembering unpleasant things.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Do they give you nightmares, too?”
Ly halted again, but this time she looked at the girl and gave her fingers a light squeeze. “Sometimes. But then I wake up and remember that it was awhile ago now and it’s okay.”
They resumed walking and for a time a silence fell between them. Then abruptly, her breathy young voice surprisingly solemn, “It does stop hurting after awhile, right? They aren’t lying to us about that?”
“They aren’t, not really,” it was Jamethera who responded first, her voice soft. “I lost my mother a few years ago. It hurt a lot then. It still hurts now, but not all the time like it used to. Just sometimes when I’d miss her the most, like her birthday.” She glanced at Lyestra. “And I had other people who cared about me, so it was okay. You’ll be fine.”
Ly gave into a random urge and tousled the girl’s hair. “Don’t let it hold you back, little one. What do you want to be some day?”
“I want to be a paladin!” She skipped along the sand as they resumed their trek. “Then I can be strong and help people.”
“I know a paladin,” Jamethera replied, her tone once more cheery. “Maybe we can take you to see her when we’re done. Her name is Ambrosine, and she is an orphan too, actually.”
“I want to be a shaman!” The other girl trilled. “Do you know any shamans?”
“We’ll see who I can find later,” the huntress promised.
“I thought we were just going to take them to these three places and then give them back,” Lyestra said quietly as the girls ran up to the pedestal with the great bronze dragon on it.
“I don’t see the harm in taking them to Stormwind as well. It’s not as if they get out much, Ly!”
She sighed. “I know, but what will Ambrosine think of us just dropping in on her?”
“Pfft, ‘Sine loves kids!” Jamethera dismissed her concern with a flick of her long fingers. “Don’t be so eager to get rid of them.”
“Jamethera, I don’t know what to do with kids! Never mind apparently disturbed orphan draenei.” The warrior eyed the pair warily.
“Again–good practice!”
“…what would I need practice with disturbed children for? Unless you’re saying something about my supposed parenting skills, which considering the lack thereof, would probably be pretty accurate. I would indeed produce warped, disturbed children. Which is exactly why I shouldn’t.”
“You and Hazard would have cute children! Adorable little half-elf babies!”
“I swear by all that’s holy, Jam, if you continue bringing that up, I really will shove you in a closet.” She scowled.
“Gotta catch me first, LyLy!” The lithe night elf took off running.
“Dammit Jamethera!” Though she knew it was fruitless, Lyestra took off after her.
“Watch your language!”
The two draenei girls exchanged glances, eyebrows raised. “They’re supposed to be grown-ups?”

Later that evening, with both young orphans back in Shattrath, the sisters wandered down the street to the home Jamethera shared with Illyana. “Come in, have a drink before you leave. I don’t know why you insist on still living in Ashenvale.”
“I like my little house out in the woods, thank you. It’s quite cozy.”
Jamethera opened the door and gestured her in. “I wasn’t kidding earlier, you know.”
“About what?” Lyestra’s brows drew together in puzzlement.
“You and Hazard making cute babies!” Jamethera grinned, easily dodging the blow intended for her shoulder.
Ly scowled again. “Stop it. I prefer being the aunt, or the older sister. Then I get to do the fun things with the kids, give them the obnoxious toys, and give them back to their parents for the unfun stuff. Suits me just fine. I’ll tell you what. If you have kids, I’ll play with ‘em. How about that?”
“Oh yes, Illyana and I will get right on that.” Forget dripping with sarcasm, the sentiment was well-nigh saturated with it. She cut Ly off before she could make any obvious lesbian elf jokes. “Come on! You two are getting married, it’s naturally the next step. I want to be the aunt.”
“…is Illyana home?” Lyestra glanced down the hall.
“No, why?”
“Good.” The closet had already been opened so they could hang up their cloaks. Ly shoved Jamethera into it and slammed the door shut before the huntress could do more than squeak. A handy chair wedged under the door handle completed the job. She glanced at Schneeflocke but the cat just blinked at her lazily. Apparently it amused the great snow leopard to let her two legged companion be confined.
“Remember,” came the muffled threat, “She’s bigger than you! And coming home soon!”
“Exactly why I’ll begin running in a moment here.” Lyestra hastily scribbled a note. It read: Please don’t kill me Illy. I had to do it. She was being obnoxious. …I love you, almost-sister dear?
Leaving the note on the table next to the closet, Lyestra turned and ran.

I’m echoing Elfi, here – SO glad you reposted! :D I should have my girls do their Children’s Week stuff before it’s all over… and write about it, of course. ;) But the dialogue was lovely, the kids were cute, and the end was hilariously perfect. XD

And theoretically, on rare occasions, we also have an @Orithea! On less rare and more wordy occasions, we also have a James. Who does not have a Twitter because he is fail? Anyway, there had to be some bubbles in this blog somewhere.